Thanks for the Assist
by TalysAlankil
Summary: Ven has a request for Vanitas: to spend Christmas with his family as his pretend boyfriend. For Vanven week with the prompt "Warmth". Loose sequel to "Backup Requested".


"You want me to come spend Christmas with your family?" Vanitas raised a suspicious eyebrow as he stared at Ventus across the cafeteria table.

"Xion's invited too, if she wants to come?" Ven couldn't help but hesitate. This was the weirdest situation he'd ever been in. But it was the last day before the winter school break—meaning his last opportunity to ask his neighbor-slash-friend for his help.

"Why?"

"She's Roxas's friend, and—we got pretty close since Halloween?" He was afraid to even bring it up. Sometimes, it felt like whatever friendship they'd built up was extremely precarious, and that Vanitas would run the other way at the earliest signs of scrutiny.

Yet it wasn't like Ventus was imagining things. They had a _thing_ going, even if he didn't know how to qualify it. They'd spent time alone together more than Ventus had with any of his friends before, and even if Vanitas was still snappy at him, he knew to read between the lines now.

Still, it was a relief when Vanitas didn't challenge his claim. "Okay, but that doesn't explain why you'd invite me to what's clearly a _family_ event."

"You told me your parents were out of town for work all week, so—"

"You took pity on me?"

"No! Well, I did think it was kinda sad, but it's not—"

"'Cause I'm not a fan of people _pitying_ me, Ventus—"

"I told my grandparents we were dating!"

Vanitas stared at him, blinking in surprise and confusion. "You _what_."

"They just kept bugging me about how I still didn't have a 'high school sweetheart',"—he intentionally mocked their voices—"and my parents kept hinting at you, and then they said they were really hoping I'd bring someone home for Christmas before they passed away, and I just—blurted it out."

Stunned silence met his words. At least Ventus _thought_ Vanitas was stunned. He might as well have been planning to kill him.

"Okay," Vanitas said, "first of all: super toxic manipulation from your family right there."

Ven rolled his eyes. "I _know_. It's what they _do_. Why do you think I babysat my preteen brothers on Halloween?"

"Second of all: why me?"

Ven shrugged. "Who else?"

"Are you even gay?"

"Uh." It was strange, but even in the context of the present conversation, the words caught in Ven's throat. "Yes?"

To his relief, Vanitas seemed to relax a little. "Oh. Okay. Good."

That was not the response Ven had anticipated. "'Good'?"

"Yeah. Me too, just for the record."

"I—kinda figured already."

"You did?"

"Yeah, like—" Ven shuffled nervously on his seat. "I don't know. Just a hunch?"

Vanitas frowned, but thankfully didn't press him on it. Ven wasn't sure how he could explain all the signs that made him think Vanitas might be into him. At least not without giving too much away about himself—and then if he'd misread Vanitas's intention…better not think about it. He would much rather focus on the fact that he had been right about this.

"This is just for pretend," Ven assured him, suppressing his own thoughts. "I promise I won't make you do anything you're not comfortable with. I just—I kinda need this?"

"You're trying to impress people you really shouldn't be trying to impress, is what I'm getting from all this."

Ven ignored the biting sarcasm. "So is that a yes?"

Vanitas rolled his eyes. "_Fine_. What could go wrong with spending a weekend at a ski resort with your entire family while pretending to date you?"

Ventus wasn't impatient to find out, so instead he jumped from his seat and dashed around the table to pull Vanitas into a hug. "Thank you! I promise I'll make it up to you."

* * *

Ven had seen Vanitas be in serious social settings before—even at Halloween, he'd mostly been entertaining his parents' guests—yet he was still shocked to find how _charming_ he could be with adults. Especially old ladies, it would seem.

Which worked great with Ventus's grandmother. Within just an hour of arriving at her old ski lodge, where she hosted her entire descendance at least once a year, Vanitas had ingratiated himself to her, and she was pulling old photo album with embarrassing childhood pictures of Ventus.

The smirk Vanitas sent his way as they began browsing together was _not_ lost on Ven, even as his grandmother cooed with each picture they uncovered. Before Ven could figure out a good excuse to pull him away, more relatives arrived, and as Ven had been volunteered by his parents to go greet them, he had to leave them.

The pair's attention was mercifully distracted as more and more of Ven's aunts, uncles, great-aunts and uncles, and cousins of various degrees start filling up the lodge. Vanitas may have been the novelty this year, but there were still a lot of people to catch up with, considering the size of their family and how far across the country most of them lived from one another.

"You were an adorable baby," Vanitas teased him when Ven was finally allowed to sit down, the last of the guests having arrived.

Ven groaned from the embarrassment. "I don't suppose you could forget what you saw."

"No way. Your grandma has a picture of you as a toddler, playing naked on the beach. The memory is seared into my brain forever."

Before he could decide to just go out into the snow and never return, one of Ven's uncles cut in their conversation, Ven's dad behind him. "Ven, my boy, there's an issue with the bedrooms. My girls would really like it if they didn't have to room with the twins, now that they're older, but…" His gaze flickered to Vanitas. "The last guest bedroom is taken."

Ven sent his dad an annoyed look. He hadn't even been made aware that Vanitas and Xion had been assigned to the guest bedroom. And, well, while Vanitas wasn't _really_ his boyfriends, only Sora, Roxas and Xion knew that, so Ven still felt annoyed on principle that his dad had tried to separate them.

Vanitas spoke up before he could lash out. "Oh, Xion can room with Sora and Roxas. She won't mind, and she doesn't need a bedroom all to herself."

Ven's uncle stared at him, mildly shocked to hear him make a decision at all. He glanced at Ven's dad, who was similarly stunned. "But—what about—"

Ven couldn't help himself but to play along. "Oh, dad, Vani will be in my room," he said, as if it were obvious, letting a hint of sarcasm tinge his words.

"It's a one-person room," his dad pointed out. "There's only one—"

"We'll be fine, sir," Vanitas said with a bright, innocent smile. "Don't worry about us. Plus," he said, turning back to Ven's uncle, "I don't want to impose on all of you. You're already super nice to let Xion and me tag along. We'll manage."

The two men looked at each other, and while Ven's dad still looked mildly uncomfortable, his brother wore a pleased grin that left no room for protests. With that silence exchange, they parted ways, going each across the room in separate directions—though Ven's dad still case uncomfortable looks towards his son.

"That gonna be a problem?" Vanitas muttered under his breath while looking at Ven's dad.

"He probably thinks we're about to have sex. It's probably weird when your oldest child does that."

"I meant—the gay thing."

"Oh! No, he's fine with it. I swear. It's really just about the sex."

"Things you never want to hear about someone's _dad_."

"Not into daddies, Vani?"

"Stop calling me that, or I'm reverting to _Venty_."

Ven snorted. "Fine. You win." Still, he couldn't help but add, "Just so we're clear, though, my dad has a point. It's just the one bed, and it's a single bed. You sure you don't want to go with the twins and Xion? They'll have an extra bed in their room."

Vanitas leaned close to Ventus to whisper in his ear, "Come on, Ven, that would blow our cover." Just the proximity was enough to make Ven blush, but the tone with which he said the words was downright _tantalizing_. A few looks turned towards the display they made, with Vanitas practically in Ven's lap by now, and Ven's face probably beet-red.

"Ven! Vanitas!" Ven had never been happier to hear his mother calling. "Come over here, boys, I need some help in the kitchen!"

"Coming!" he shouted back. He shoved Vanitas aside, which only made him giggle, and stood up. "You too," he told Vanitas, unwilling to let him out of his sight.

Unfortunately, Vanitas decided this meant he had to hold Ven's hand as they crossed the living room towards the kitchen. It was only when he caught his mother standing in the doorway with a grin on her face that he realized this wasn't her just asking for help, but by the time he noticed the trap, it was too late: a small circle had formed around Vanitas and Ventus, and a few of them looked up, making Ventus realize what they were standing under.

"Come on, boys!" His mom said. "You have to! It's tradition!"

Ven tried to catch Vanitas's gaze and signal to him that they did not, in fact, have to do anything just because they stood under mistletoe. Even if they _had_ been dating Ven would have felt uncomfortable with this, and he certainly didn't want to force Vanitas—

Then Vanitas pressed his lips to Ven's, and his doubts crumbled.

It was only brief, a quick brush of their lips together, but it was enough to cut off his breath and leave him panting and wanting more. Vanitas was smiling softly at him, a tender look in his eyes, and Ven was pretty sure his heart was going to melt.

Somewhere to the side, Sora said, "That's all?" in a teasing tone.

Vanitas cast them an annoyed glare. "Gotta keep it PG. We're in a family setting." He winked at Ventus as he said this, completely naturally, as if they ever _didn't_ 'keep it PG'.

And now Ventus was thinking about all the ways he didn't want to keep it PG with Vanitas. _Damn_. Maybe it had been a bad idea to ask his friend he definitely had a crush on to be his fake boyfriend. Important information to take note of for the next time. Or better yet, he could avoid any risk of a next time by burying himself in the snow right now and choosing to die with whatever was left of his dignity intact.

"Ooooh, Ven's _blushing_!" one of his aunts said. So much for dignity.

Ven cleared his throat. "I—need a drink. Anyone else wants something?"

"I'll help you," Vanitas offered with complete, natural ease, as if he wasn't aware of the torment Ven was in. Hopefully he wasn't aware of it. "Thirsty boy," he added under his breath as they made it into the hallway, and Ventus was certain he wanted to die now.

"You didn't have to do that," Ven said once they were mercifully alone in the kitchen.

"I know," Vanitas said. "But come on, you should see your face. It's _priceless_. I wouldn't have passed on that for the world."

"Great. So you just decided to join my family in torturing me. You're such a big help."

"Come on, Ven, this is going _fine_." Still, Vanitas made a contrite smirk when he noticed Ven wasn't looking up. "Look, I can tone it down if you want. I just figured—well, we're friends anyway, I'm bound to meet your family at some point, so why not be myself? But if we're crossing some kind of line, you just need to say so."

"No, it's—" He shook his head. "It's nothing bad. Just want to make sure this isn't going to make things weird between us after it's all over and we go home."

Vanitas crossed the kitchen to gently grab Ven's wrist, forcing him to turn and face him. "_Ven_," he said, insisting on the diminutive he so rarely used, "this is okay. I promise. And I don't want to lose our friendship any more than you do."

His words took Ven by surprise. "Vanitas—"

Whatever emotion had taken him over was gone, though, because he let go of Ventus ad stepped back. "You should invest in some chapstick, by the way," he said with his usual snark.

Ven almost choked at the offhand mention of their earlier kiss, but at least the conversation was sliding back into familiar territory. This was fine, easy and comfortable. He could deal with that.

* * *

A first round of gift exchanges started—mostly for the younger children's sake, though Sora was definitely as enthusiastic as the kids half his age—before dinner started. It stretched out for the usual long hours, long past the second round of gift exchange at midnight.

But finally, around three in the morning, people started retiring to their respective bedrooms. Ven was on cleanup duty, and Vanitas offered to help him take care of the living room, where wrapping papers were scattered across the entire floor, and there were at least an average of three glasses on any flat surface—not all of them empty.

They chatted lightly as they worked, though it was only a matter of a few minutes. When Ven returned from carrying the last of the glasses to the kitchen, he almost ran into Vanitas, who was carrying the bag they'd used to store the wrapping paper.

"Sorry," Ven said automatically, but before he could step aside, Vanitas's hand landed on his shoulder, and he dropped the bag on the floor. Ven stared at him, confused; it was only when Vanitas looked up at the mistletoe, then back down at Ven, raising an eyebrow, that Ven understood.

"No one's looking at us," Ven said, managing a half-smile, though he was sure it looked unconvincing. "We don't have to."

"I know," Vanitas said. "We don't." And then his lips were on Ven's anyway, and he was kissing him—not soft and innocent like before, but hungry, like his life depended on this one kiss. His hand slid from Ven's shoulder, up the back of his neck and into his hair, while he wrapped his other arm around Ven's waist, holding him closer.

It took a moment for Ven's tired brain to process what was happening, and when he did, he almost panicked. Vanitas was kissing him. _Kissing_ him. Kissing _him_. And he wasn't doing anything about it.

Fumbling, he attempted to kiss back, though he had no frame of reference as to what that meant. He also took inspiration from Vanitas himself, wrapping his arms around his neck and tangling his hands in his hair. Vanitas groaned approvingly against his mouth, and teased Ven's lips open with his tongue, making Ven melt into his arms.

Ven was pretty sure he was actually dying like he'd wished for earlier; his heart was beating insanely fast, his head was swimming and light, and his legs felt like rubber. And when Vanitas finally stopped ravaging his mouth, Ven felt short on breath and about to pass out. Yet he had also never felt this _alive_.

"Wow," he said, dumbly.

"You're not a bad kisser, Ven," Vanitas said, smirking.

"And you're _amazing_," he replied naturally, before it hit him what had just happened. "You _kissed_ me."

"Yeah, I thought that was obvious."

"I mean, like, really kissed me. With no one watching."

"It would be weird if our actual first kiss had witnesses, don't you think?"

"First—"

There was a brief look of fear in Vanitas's eyes. "Unless—did I do something wrong? God, you were _just_ talking about not ruining our friendship and here I am—"

"No," Ven said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Vanitas settled down from that. "Okay." He took a deep breath. "Okay, good."

"So—"

"Yeah. So."

Ven's brain felt empty, so he just spoke reflexively. "We should go to bed."

"So _forward_." Vanitas said, his smirk growing larger.

Ven shoved him back. "Shut _up_. I'm only talking about sleeping. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, I know," Vanitas said. "But—just so we're clear, when you say I didn't do anything wrong, you _do_ mean there's more kissing for us in the future, right?"

Ven stared at him, blinking. "I—hope so?"

Vanitas stepped forward, closing the distance between them again. "Good." He pressed another quick kiss to Ven's lips. "Now, lead the way."

Ven's room for the past few years had been the same: a small, single-person room located right under the lodge's rafters. Ven was pretty sure it wasn't originally meant as a bedroom, but it was the only single-person room in the house, and as the only single almost-adult in the family, it was either that or share a room with a bunch of children.

Glancing at Vanitas, he corrected himself. He guessed he wasn't exactly _single_ anymore.

Vanitas let out a small whimper when they entered as the cold hit him. "Room's not well isolated," Ven explained, apologetic. "Last chance to go sleep with your sister and the twins."

Vanitas scoffed. "I don't mind the cold. I'm sure we can find a way to keep warm." He pushed Ven towards the bed, catching his lips into another kiss.


End file.
